What is a Joick?
by crazyqt13
Summary: Joe knows that fans slash him and his younger brother together, and finds it kind of entertaining. What will Nick think when Joe shows him? Nick/Joe, fluff/pre-slash


Nick wondered into Joe's room after dinner with a new song he was working on. He always looked for Joe's input on lyrics- he was the music guy, Joe was the lyrics guy. They made a good team. Joe was sitting on his bed, laptop on his lap, smirk on his lips.

"Whatcha lookin' at, big bro?"

"Oh, nothing.... You wouldn't get it."

"I'm sure I would, you know I'm the smart one," Nick said, attempting to make a joke. "What did you come in here for, Nicky?"

Nick had to think. "Oh. New song, I dunno if it's going anywhere." He slid a crumbled sheet of lined paper to his brother, and picked up his old acoustic guitar, and strummed a few chords. "It kind of sounds like this in my head, I dunno." They spent the rest of the night huddled together, turning Nick's lyrics into something good enough for his music, Joe's laptop teporarily forgotten.

A few days later, Nick found Joe alone in the family room, laptop and smirk present again.

"Seriously dude, I never see you without that thing lately. What is so entertaining?"

"Do you really wanna know?"

"That is why I asked..."

"Fine, come here," Joe said, sitting up and turning his laptop towards his brother.

Nick scrolled a little, confusion building on his face. It was just a collection of... of pictures of the band. Him and his brothers on stage, at promos, at magazine photoshoots, even some candids that he'd never seen before. He turned to his older brother, confused. "You just sit here all day, looking at pictures of us? But... why?"

"Dude, did you read any of the captions?"

Nick shook his head. "I just kinda scrolled."

"Look again." Nick slid the computer on to his lap.

"aw, look at our bbs!"

"love Kev, but he's so out of place."

"look, they can't keep their hand off each other"

"they give each other the best looks!"

"joick = cutest couple ever"

"total boyfriendzzzz"

Nick slowly handed Joe back his computer.

"Uh, wow.. Um... Wow." Nick wasn't sure what to say really. "Fangirls just keep getting... stranger."

"Or more observant," Joe countered.

Nick looked at him quickly. "What?"

"Well, I mean, we are closer with each other than either of us are with Kev, and he totally does look out of place there. We are very touchy-feely, and you know we have a way of talking with our eyes. We've always done it."

"Well, yeah I know that. But... boyfriends? And, what the hell is a joick?"

Joe smiled that smirky little grin of his. The one he always used when he knew something he didn't know if he should share. "Welllllll...." Joe dragged it out. "You know how the gossip magazines say things like Bragelina, and Bennifer? Well, Joick is kind of... Kind of us."

Nick wasn't sure what to say. Most of those pictures were from those days that he had an especially hard time keeping his hands, and eyes, off his older brother. But a few of them- the ones he had to take a second look at- well, in those it was Joe who had his hands on Nicks shoulder, or back, or around his waist. In those, it was Nick who was looking away while Joe's eyes drove into him. Those were the ones that made him nervous and made his stomach turn over.

"So we're a celebrity couple now?" he asked, trying to sound light and joking.

"Are you asking me on a date?" Joe asked, with a light and airy tone that Nick had failed to accomplish. Nick punched his brother lightly on his arm. Joe turned to him, now serious.

"Seriously, bro, what do you think?"

"About what? A date?"

"About this- these pictures, and the people who put this together."

"Oh. I- I dunno. What do you think?" He couldn't tell his brother what he really thought. He couldn't tell him that the fangirls were right.

Half right, he corrected himself. His feelings for Joe were more than brotherly. But if Joe could sit here and smirk about it, he probably didn't return Nick's sinful thoughts. Nick's first reaction was definitely not to smirk. More like thank God the computer was on his lap. The looks Joe was giving him in some of those pictures made him start to get a little turned on. Even if they were unintentional, they were, well, hot. Joe looked like he wasn't sure what to say either.

"Well. I mean, I guess you gotta admit that in some of them we do kind of look like boyfriendzz," he said, emphasizing the z that the one fan had used. His confident air seemed to be faltering.

"Yeah, we totally do. How'd we never noticed that before?" Nick asked, now smiling despite himself.

"I guess I kind of did. Not that we look like boyfriendzz," emphasizing again, "but that we are sort of cozy. I just figured we looked like a really close-knit family."

"Well, we are a close-knit family." Did Joe just shift closer to him? Or was he always this close?

"Is that all we are though?" Joe looked right into Nick's eyes, and Nick had to look away because he was getting that feeling again.

"Joe, what are you trying to say?"

Joe lost his confidence again. "That I.... That maybe... Well, sometimes I don't feel like your brother. I mean, sometimes when I look at you, or when we're sharing a microphone and we're soclose, the thoughts that cross my mind... well, they aren't what you'd call brotherly." Joe sighed heavily, the weight of his confession off his shoulders. Then, just as quickly, he gasped and looked away.

Nick inhaled quickly, and took a quick second to compose himself. "Joe..." He put his hand on his older brother's shoulder. Joe turned and faced him, but didn't quite look at him. His eyes were glistening. "Joe," he started again. "Me too. I feel like that too."

Finally Joe met his eyes again. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

They were both smiling uncertainly, Nick felt tears welling up in his eyes, and saw them in Joe's. Yet before they could leave his eyes, Joe pulled him in, and kissed him. And the tears were gone.


End file.
